Judge rules Sugarloaf Logistics can advance data center litigation
A Luzerne County judge ruled that Sugarloaf Industrial and Logistics Holding can continue litigation seeking a zoning change to allow data centers in Sugarloaf Township. The township supervisors separately tabled a resolution that would establish new data center rules, leaving the proposed zoning changes undecided.
Judge Lesa S. Gelb of Luzerne County ruled that Sugarloaf Industrial and Logistics Holding, which has an agreement to purchase the property, can proceed as the plaintiff in litigation over a proposed data center zoning change in Sugarloaf Township. The company and the Richard E. Angelo Family Limited Partnership sought to intervene after Chicago-based LBT Investment Group LLC withdrew from the six-data-center proposal on 185 acres along Tomhicken Road.
Gelb found the intervention petition moot for Sugarloaf Logistics but denied it for the Angelo partnership, concluding that Sugarloaf Logistics adequately represents the partnership's interests. The underlying request for a curative amendment to permit data centers remains unresolved. Township supervisors also tabled a resolution to create data center rules after residents raised concerns about how the action could affect the pending litigation.